Celine Dion had not walked down a street in front of cameras in two years. On Friday, something changed: she stepped out of a car at the Hotel Le Royal Monceau in Paris, wearing a camel trench coat and dark sunglasses, and blew kisses to the fans who had been waiting for her since early morning.
Behind that scene lies a battle she kept secret for 17 years.
It was not until December 2022 that she revealed she lives with stiff-person syndrome, a condition that robbed her of control over her own body and, at times, the ability to sing.
Since then, she has been training in Pilates and ballet several times a week, gradually rebuilding what the illness took from her.
At 58, Celine is preparing to return to the stage on September 12 in Nanterre, with 16 performances she gifted herself for her birthday.
‘I’m ready, but nervous’, she confessed. After so much silence, that phrase sounds like a victory.